Where They Wait For Him
by flightlessraven
Summary: The fight for their lives will never end. There was more to this story. And, apparently, she was determined that she would play a part in the adventure this time. "See you soon" turned out to be sooner than he thought. TEMPORARY HIATUS.
1. Two Syllables, Nine Letters

Hello there, darlings! It is with great joy that I can finally say that my mind has finally concocted a decent Kingdom Hearts story. Seriously, I have been trying to think of something good for about five months or so. This story, like so many others, takes place right after the closing of Kingdom Hearts II. I know this idea has been used before a whole lot, but I have my own unique take on what happens next. I finally got the inspiration after unlocking "Blank Points" on Birth by Sleep. Sora is just too adorable oh my god. Anyways, on with the story!

Disclaimer: If I owned Kingdom Hearts, I would have "kiss Kairi" as one of Sora's reaction commands.

**(*)**

**W h e r e T h e y W a i t F o r H i m**

**C h a p t e r 1 : **

**T w o S y l l a b l e s , N i n e L e t t e r s**

**(*)**

"You're home."

Two syllables.

Nine letters.

Two simple words had never sounded so beautiful.

He was home.

He was _home_.

He was finally _**home**__._

Home was where there were no Heartless.

Home was where there were no Nobodies.

Home meant no more Organization XIII, no more Maleficent, no more Pete, no more Xehanort, no more Xe mnas, no more lethal battles, no more Kingdom Hearts…

Home was where _Kairi _was.

And now, home was where Sora and Riku were.

What seemed like moments ago, Sora and Riku had been content to be the darkness, seeing as the Realm of Light was now safe. Kairi, the King, Donald, and Goofy were all in the light, safe and sound. Their job was done. Xemnas was finally defeated. But, as Sora had learned in all of his recent adventures and near-death experiences, things pretty much never turn out the way you plan them.

For example, they didn't plan on having a message in a bottle from a very familiar person wash up on the shore.

Sora read those sixty-one words out loud. Then, he was almost blinded by an expanding pillar of light out in the middle of the waves they had been listening to. Riku had said that the waves sounded the same as home.

"Light." Riku had stated.

"The Door to Light!"

Sora jumped up from his sitting position on the eerie shore.

"We'll go together." He extended a gloved hand to his best friend.

"Yeah."

The two walked into the blinding light…

And then…

There was a great splash as they hit the water hard.

And then, the familiar sound of waves had returned.

And then, the familiar voice of Kairi as she called out their names had returned.

"Sora! Riku!"

Home.

Sora couldn't believe his eyes.

After everything.

After the endless fighting for their lives.

"You're home."

(*)

"What happened to you two?" Kairi questioned, as they sat on their favorite bent paopu tree. "I remember calling your names as I was swallowed up by the darkness again. And then I was back here, alone."

It was only the three of them again, just like it used to be. Donald, Goofy, and the King had reluctantly said their good-byes. Sora had taken it pretty hard, especially when it came time to say good-bye to his long-time companions. Donald and Goofy had been there pretty much every step of the way in their long and dangerous journey. They had saved each other many a time. They kept him going even though he had wanted to quit. Who wouldn't be upset when the good-byes had to come?

The King had said something about him being sure that this wasn't a final good-bye, and that they would meet again without a doubt.

And then, they were off to Disney Castle.

To _their_ home.

"Let's just say Xemnas had a few extra tricks left up his sleeves." Riku stated, drumming his fingers on the trunk.

"A few deadly tricks, that's for sure." Sora added, locking his fingers behind his head as he always did.

Kairi brushed her now-longer burgundy locks away from her blue eyes.

"Hmm. Destiny sure has put us through a whole lot, hasn't it?"

Sora and Riku looked over at her and nodded.

Sora laughed to himself.

"Well, I guess that's what you get for living in Destiny Islands."

The other two laughed along with him. Sora had missed this more than anything. The sound of laughter from his two best friends.

Riku sighed. "Honestly, at times, when all I could see was darkness, I almost forgot what home looked like. I'd been away from it for so long." He looked down at his feet dangling above the ground.

Kairi sighed too.

"Well, I can understand that. Even though I came back here, I still forgot things."

She turned her head to face Sora.

"Sora… well… e-everyone on the islands forgot about you for a while."

At this, Sora was startled. His head snapped and faced Kairi, his own blue eyes meeting hers. She could see hurt, disbelief, and confusion swimming in them already.

"Wha…?"

Kairi held the gaze for a few seconds, and then looked down at the ground as Riku had. She had to say it. But she couldn't do it while looking him in the eye. It hurt her to tell him the truth. But she had to go on.

"I slowly began to lose all my memories of you. I don't know why… but I could remember you, Riku. But not Sora. I kept forgetting more and more. And then, finally, I couldn't… I couldn't even… remember Sora's name."

Sora felt like he had just taken a beating from a Berserker.

What? Kairi had… _forgotten him!_? How could she… didn't she know he…

"I felt awful about it. I'd gotten so angry with myself. I even told myself I wouldn't go back to the Island until I remembered. And then, when almost all hope was lost, I remembered! For the longest time, Sora, I even forgot your voice. One day, I heard it again."

She looked back over at the Keyblade Wielder.

"Starts with an S. Right, Sora?" She smiled at him, just like she had always done before all of this happened, and winked.

Yeah, Kairi still had the same effect on him.

She still made his heart jump in his chest.

Sora was confused, though. Sure, he'd been away for a really long time… far from any English class, that's for sure. But that didn't mean he had forgotten how to spell his own name! He scratched the back of his head as Kairi continued.

"The day before I finally heard your voice again, I had written out a message to whoever the boy was that I couldn't remember. When I did remember, I sent it off into the ocean hoping it would get to you someday. It's too bad you…"

Sora pulled out said piece of paper from his pocket and unrolled it. Riku looked over at Sora and nodded, a slight smile on his face.

Sora cleared his throat and began reading it again.

"Thinking of you, wherever you are…" He began. "We pray for our sorrows to end. And hope that our hearts with blend. Now I will step forward to realize this wish."

"And who knows? Starting a new journey may not be so hard." Kairi had interrupted him, continuing the letter. She looked into Sora's eyes once more and grinned, as he was no longer looking down at the paper. "Or maybe it's already begun. There are many worlds. But they share the same sky. One sky…"

"One destiny." The three of them finished together, Riku joining in.

The silver-haired one smiled at the two.

"You know what, Kairi? I think you helped bring us back here."

Kairi shifted her focus over to Riku.

"What? How?"

"As soon as Sora finished reading your letter for the first time, the Door to Light appeared to us. And then, the next thing we knew, we were here."

Again, Kairi smiled.

"Hmm… well, I'm so glad you two are back. You have no idea how much I missed you guys." She jumped down from her perch in between Sora and Riku onto the sandy beach of their Island, sticking the landing.

"Everything was so quiet around here without you two. I had to put up with Selphie, Tidus, and Wakka all by myself!" She giggled, putting her hands on her hips to show that she was proud of this accomplishment.

Again, her laughter was joined by Sora and Riku's as they too left their spots on the paopu tree.

"We missed you too, Kairi." Sora said truthfully, as he rubbed the back of his neck. But in the back of his mind, Sora knew that what he had said was an understatement. Kairi had no idea how much he, personally, had missed the Princess of Heart. It takes a lot to get the all-powerful Key Bearer and savior of all worlds onto his hands and knees and beg the enemy to take him to her.

(*)

"So… which world was your favorite? I'm sure you got to see them all, just like you wanted to."

Sora and Kairi sat on the edge of the dock, just as they had done before the storm that changed their lives. Their feet hung off over the side, both pairs of shoes reflecting and glistening in the clear blue water that was now tinted with the brilliant colors of the sunset. He'd missed these sunsets.

Especially watching them with her.

"I didn't get to see them _all_, Kairi. But I did see a lot." Sora answered, not really sure which one was his favorite. There were, like he said, a lot of them. And he had wonderful friends that he would never forget in every single one.

"What were they like?"

Kairi was pretty curious, seeing as for most of her friends' journeys, she was either out of the picture, imprisoned by the enemy, or unconscious. She was curious, yes, but she also enjoyed spending some time with just Sora. She didn't really know where Riku was, but she wasn't really looking for him either. She and Sora hadn't been alone together for a very long time; far too long in both of their opinions.

Sora smiled and looked up at the now appearing stars in the sky. Once again, his hands found their way to their spot behind his spiky hair.

"Well… wow… where do I even start?" Sora started, laughing. He eyed the stars again, as if he was looking for an inspiration. And then he began his long list.

"Hmm… well there was one world where everything was black and white, including me. In another one, we were underwater and I had a mermaid tail! And then there was one where everything was all about Halloween and Christmas and…"

Kairi listened intently as Sora kept describing world after world. She was in awe. He really _had_ seen everything.

"Oh, I almost forgot! There was another world inside a world. And it was all a computer program." Sora looked over at Kairi and gave her his signature goofy grin.

Kairi smiled back at him. She had missed that grin.

It was then that Sora realized just how different Kairi was from the last time they sat at this spot, watching the fading sun over the horizon. She had matured and calmed down a lot; probably because Sora and Riku weren't there for so long. She had grown, as Sora had. And, although Sora would only admit to himself, she was even more beautiful than before.

"Sora," Kairi started, staring off into the sunset again. "Why would you ever want to come back here, even after seeing all of those amazing things?"

"Huh?" Sora said quickly, kind of taken aback. Not that he didn't know his reason. Oh no. There was one simple answer; a one word answer. And Sora certainly knew what it was. But, obviously, he couldn't say it. No way.

"_Oh, come on man! Now's your chance! Say it!" _a voice shouted from within Sora.

"_R-Roxas? Is… uh… was that… y-you?"_

"_Correct. Because we met each other and fused together, I can now talk to you inside your head. Cool, huh."_

"_Uhm…"_

"_So, the slayer of both Xehanort's Heartless and Xemnas can't even confess his feelings to the girl he sacrificed his heart and journeyed all across the galaxy for? Wow."_

"_Roxas! I'm… uhm… not very good at… that kind of stuff. Believe me."_

"Sora? Did you hear me?"

Sora snapped out of his conversation with his Nobody and turned his attention back to Kairi. He was blushing like mad. He remembered the last time he had blushed like that. Goofy and Donald certainly didn't let it go unnoticed when Will and Elizabeth had embraced all romantic-like in Port Royal. Sora's face had developed a red-ish glow as he thought about the person he would like to wrap his arms around like that.

And now, the annoying red-ish glow had returned.

He silently prayed that the sunset's reddish tint had camouflaged it before she noticed.

"Y-yeah. Sorry. I kinda… kinda zoned out for a second." Sora said to the redhead, adding in a nervous laugh for emphasis as he rubbed the back of his neck again.

"_Sora, just say it. Trust me."_

"_I… I just… ugh. I just can't, Roxas."_

Kairi laughed and elbowed him affectionately.

"Even after all the time when you were off playing hero, you haven't changed a bit. You're still the same lazy bum."

And with that comment, Sora's stomach now had a serious case of the butterflies.

"_Man, Kairi. Do you have any idea how fast Sora's heart is racing right now, thanks to you?"_

"_Huh? Oh. Roxas, seriously. Stop it!"_

"_Hey. I'm just trying to help."_

"_You're really not helping right this second."_

He blocked out whatever Roxas was in the process of saying to respond to Kairi, who was still laughing. Her laughter was just so… contagious. And it was music to Sora's ears.

"Don't you remember what you told me, Kairi?" Sora bravely asked, his heart racing (as Roxas had annoyingly pointed out).

Kairi smiled again and nodded, shifting her gaze once again back to Sora.

"I told you to never change. And you didn't. Even after everything you went through. You're still… Sora."

She reached into her pouch that was attached to her dress and pulled out her lucky charm (AKA Oathkeeper). She held it close to her heart and closed her eyes as Sora watched her.

"You kept all of your promises. You… you came back. You're finally back home."

There was that beautiful word again.

Home.

(*)

Meanwhile, while Sora and Kairi were off on the dock, Riku had done some exploring. He hadn't lied when he confessed that he had almost forgotten what home looked like. So he decided to re-familiarize himself with his beloved Destiny Islands.

And, during so, he happened to stumble upon the good old Secret Place.

Which, oddly enough, in turn, verified all of his suspicions about the couple-that-isn't-a-couple-but-definitely-should-be-a-couple couple that was currently admiring the sunset.

The corners of Riku's mouth rose upwards to form a smirk.

This was going to be fun.

(*)

Well, I was planning on making this a oneshot, but I looked down at my word counter and I saw that I'm almost at 3,000 words already. Geez. So I'm going to have to break this into chapters. I'm not sure how many yet. So keep reading. I may actually make this have a plot! Haha.

I've seen so many KH stories where Sora and Roxas can talk to each other. So I decided, well, why not? In KH2, I really didn't see Roxas as the funny one of the two, but still. I love writing their conversations.

Keep reading. Drop a comment, maybe? It would make my day.

Have a wonderful day, beautiful.

Love, Liz.


	2. Something Like Schizophrenia

Hello my little Moogles. I'm back with the next chapter. I'm not planning to make this an insanely long and epic Kingdom Hearts 3. But then again, I never know until I know, y'know. Lolololol. I sound like Rai. Oh man, he pisses me off in the beginning of Kingdom Hearts 2, y'know?

… I gotta stop doing that.

Note: I did not mention Sora's father in this story. I know he has/had one, but I decided to just keep it as his mother. She was actually given a small speaking part in KH1. And since no one knows what any of the characters' last names are, I did not give Sora and his mother a last name. Or any of the other characters for that matter.

Anyways, here's the next chapter.

Disclaimer: … y'know.

**(*)**

**W h e r e T h e y W a i t F o r H i m**

**C h a p t e r 2 :**

**S o m e t h i n g L i k e S c h i z o p h r e n i a **

**(*)**

"I never thought I'd miss my room this much." Sora sighed in content as the collapsed onto his long-lost bed. The old springs bounced his body up and down a few times as Sora closed his eyes and just thought.

Hmm. Funny. Sora hadn't been able to just… think in quite a long time. Every time he tried to process a deep thought, he'd be immediately barraged by Heartless, Nobodies, or the Organization.

Or D: All of the above.

Sora had had a rather… emotional reunion with his mother downstairs. The second she saw him, she burst into tears and rushed at him full-force, arms open. It was more of a tackle than a touching hug, actually. But, give the woman a break. She hadn't seen or heard from her only son for about two years.

Kairi had come with him. Sora actually had to practically beg her to come, seeing as he didn't know what to expect the poor woman to do. He didn't know if she would be angry at him for his absence or emotional. And if it was A, he figured if Kairi came, she might go easier on him.

Luckily, it was B.

At least, at first.

But Kairi was there, no longer needed for back-up. She remained there for a little while, and then she realized it would be quite some time before Sora's mother released him from her death-grip. She quietly headed back to her own home, whispering "Good night, Sora" before she left.

After Sora's mother released the hero, ahem… pardon me… _junior _hero, from her clutches, she did what Sora had figured she'd do next. They began a round of twenty-questions.

"Are you okay?"

"Are you hurt?"

"Where have you been?"

"Why did you leave?"

"Why can't you tell me?"

"What do you mean you 'just can't', Sora?"

"What do you mean I 'wouldn't understand'?"

"Why _can't_ you talk about it?"

And then, Sora wished Kairi was still there.

_Next_ came the yelling.

"What do you mean you 'just can't', Sora? I am your _mother_! I demand you tell me where you were, young man!"

"I have the right to know where my son has been for the past _two years_!"

"I want an answer _now_, Sora!"

It finally ended after she got tired of hearing the same answer over and over and over again.

"Maybe someday you'll understand, Mom." Sora sighed. He didn't actually want to keep what he had done a secret. But something told him he had to.

With that, he let her pull him in for another tearful hug and then he told her that he was tired.

Which now brought him up to his current thought on his actually-made-for-once bed in his actually-clean-for-once room.

Another deep sigh escaped his throat as he closed his eyes and drifted off into…

"…_Why didn't you tell Kairi?"_

Never mind.

"_Roxas, not now. I'm too tired for another round of 20 questions."_

"_Yes, now. Sora, you _have _to tell her. "_

"_Why do I _have _to tell her?_

"_Because Kairi's not stupid. She probably already knows."_

Sora's eyes popped back open at his Nobody's words and he bolted upwards.

"What? No! She can't possibly…"

"Sora! Who are you talking to? Is someone up there?"

Sora's mother came sprinting up the stairs to find her son smiling sheepishly as he, yet again, scratched his neck.

"Heh. Sorry Mom. No one else here."

Her mouth opened to say more, but something told her it wasn't worth asking about. So she rolled her eyes, turned around, and headed back downstairs.

"_Hey genius, that was out loud."_

"_Really? No kidding. Anyways. Roxas, h-how could she possibly know?"_

"_Like I said. Kairi and __Namin__é aren't stupid."_

"_I know tha – wait. __Namin__é? Kairi can talk to __Namin__é like I can talk to you?"_

"_Most likely."_

Sora huffed and rubbed his forehead. Great. Now he had to hide his feeling from Kairi _and _Naminé.

"_Well… what do I do, Roxas?"_

"_Beats me! I was never exactly smooth with the ladies either."_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_Well, uh… never mind. But I can tell you this. When you see Kairi, I see __Namin__é. What you feel for Kairi is what I feel for __Namin__é. It's kind of how this Nobodies-inside-their-original-selves thing works."_

Sora smirked. Talking to himself but not actually talking to himself could take some getting used to. Plus, the fact that another entire person… well… _once _person was inside of him was very confusing. He felt like he had schizophrenia. But at least he always had someone to talk to now.

"_So… you like __Namin__é?"_

"_Do you like Kairi?"_

"_Obviously."_

"_Then do the math."_

Hmm… what was math again? Something about boring numbers and shapes, maybe?

"_Is this why you want me to tell Kairi? So you can tell __Namin__é how you feel about her too at the same time?"_

"_Kind of. I'm also trying to be a good Nobody and give you a shove in the right direction."_

"_Shove being the key word here."_

"_Ah, stop whining. You're acting like you couldn't care less if Kairi actually loved you back."_

Sora actually laughed at this.

"_Of course I want her to like me back, Roxas. I'm just… well… a-afraid to tell her. That's all."_

"_Again. The slayer of every Heartless and Nobody that's ever threatened the worlds can't even tell the girl of his dreams how he feels about her. Tsk tsk, Sora."_

Sora rolled his eyes and twisted himself into a more comfortable position.

"…_If you weren't inside of my head, you'd have a Keyblade sticking out of your chest right now."_

"… _Message received."_

(*)

"_Has he always been that nervous around you, Kairi?"_

Kairi was sitting on a window ledge in her bedroom, looking out the glass to see the stars. Just as she and Sora had done a few hours ago. She giggled at her Nobody's question.

"_Sadly.__"_

"_It's kind of strange, isn't it? Sora having a shy side?"_

"_Hmm… Yeah, I guess it is. I mean, Sora's a Keyblade Master! He shouldn't be afraid of anything."_

"_Technically, Sora isn't a Keyblade Master yet."_

Kairi slid herself off of the ledge. She straightened her nightgown and walked across her room to her bed. She wasn't tired enough to fall asleep yet, but she sat down next to her pillow. With great care, she removed her lucky charm from underneath it. Looking down at it, she thought about how lucky it really must be. It brought Sora and Riku home. And that took a lot of luck.

"_What do you mean? Of course he's a Master, __Namin__é. He's saved the worlds twice now!"_

"_Don't forget, Kairi. He's saved you twice now too."_

"_How could I possibly forget that?"_

"_I know. But anyways, Sora's not an official Keyblade Master because he hasn't taken a Mark of Mastery exam yet."_

Kairi raised her eyebrows.

"_A what?"_

Kairi heard Naminé sigh inside of her.

"_It's quite complicated, I'm afraid. Basically, a Keyblade Wielder, such as Sora or Riku, would have to find a current Keyblade Master and earn the Mark after a series of challenging trials."_

"_Oh.__"_

Thoughts of Sora leaving again flooded Kairi's mind at those words. The redheaded Princess of Heart bit her lip. She couldn't watch him leave her again. That would be too painful. Far too painful. She had waited a whole year to be with him again. And now, at any given moment, he could easily be taken away.

Kairi gulped as a terrible shiver was sent down her spine.

"_Namin__é, d-do you think Sora will have to take that exam soon?"_

"_I think he has to."_

"_But… but _why_? He defeated Xemnas! The Organization! Kingdom Hearts! They're all gone! Why would they need him to save the worlds again if they don't need saving?"_

Kairi was beginning to worry. She wasn't about to let them take him away again. Not for some stupid Mark.

"_I don't know, Kairi. I'm sorry. I don't want them to take Sora and Roxas away either."_

"…_Roxas?"_

"_Sora's Nobody. Remember? You met him at the World that Never Was."_

"_I know who he is. I just mean… wait. Can Sora talk to Roxas like I talk to you?"_

"_I believe so."_

Kairi huffed and rubbed her forehead. This was getting far too complicated. Why didn't they teach this kind of stuff in school instead of the history of Destiny Islands and all those other classes she had? She stood again and began pacing her room. There was no hope for sleep at the moment.

"_So Sora and Roxas are like you and me?"_

"_Precisely."_

"_H-he can't leave without me, then! We promised you two that we'd be together every day."_

"_I remember. But I know Sora. And he would never dare put you in harm's way."_

At this, Kairi's face got a little redder.

"_I know that. But…"_

"_And Roxas would never put me in danger either."_

A little light bulb went off in Kairi's head.

"_Wait a second. If I feel… well… if I feel the way I feel about Sora, does that mean that you feel the same way about Roxas?"_

Kairi heard Naminé giggle.

"_I guess that's the way this thing works."_

"_Oh." _

Kairi smirked. Yes, this entire thing was confusing her almost to the point of insanity. But, it was nice to always have someone to talk to. Especially about what to do about Sora. Because, quite honestly, Kairi had no idea what to do about said Keyblade Wielder. Kairi was far from stupid. Heck, in school she had straight A's. So of course she knew about the Sora little "secret" crush on her. That is, if they could even call it a crush anymore.

The problem wasn't that Kairi didn't know how she felt about the almost-Keyblade-Master.

No, that was definitely not the problem.

Of course Kairi felt the same about Sora. Come on. He had travelled the galaxy to save her! But that wasn't the only reason. Even before any of this Keyblade stuff happened, she still had the same crush on the spikey-haired-boy.

Again, if they could even call their feelings "crushes" anymore.

Kairi's next challenge was getting Sora to admit it. Because, obviously, he was determined to act dumb and never acknowledge it to anyone but himself.

Too bad Kairi was smart.

Too bad she had already figured him out.

And suddenly, with that train of thought, another light bulb went off.

"_Wait! __Namin__é, I'm a Keyblade Wielder too, right?"_

It took Naminé a few seconds to answer.

"_Hmm… Well… I suppose you are. I mean, you fought with the one Riku gave you in the Castle that Never Was. And if you aren't capable of wielding a Keyblade, you can't do that."_

Kairi remembered how Riku had handed her Destiny's Embrace not that long ago to help fight off the swarm of Shadow Heartless that were attacking Sora and company. She also recalled how Donald had complimented her on her fighting skills.

And of course Kairi could never forget what had happened next.

She could finally hug her "hero".

Because, as she had said before Sora had finally held her back, he was indeed very real.

Definitely more real than her dreams of him finally coming back to her after she finally remembered him.

"_So, if Sora and Riku leave again to receive their Marks of Mastery, I can get one with them because I'm a Keyblade Wielder too! Right?"_

"_Kairi? Aren't you getting a little ahead of yourself? They're still here in Destiny Islands. They just got back! For all we know, it could be years before Sora and Riku need to find a Master and receive their Marks of Mastery."_

Kairi stopped pacing and walked back to her bed. Carefully, she placed her lucky charm under her pillow again. Deciding that it was getting late, she laid back onto her mattress. She found a nice spot on the ceiling to stare at while her conversation with Naminé continued.

"_I know. But, if worst comes to worst and they're taken away again soon, couldn't I go too?"_

Again, Naminé sighed and struggled while she tried to find the right words to say next.

"_Kairi, I'm not sure if that's a good idea. Sora and Riku have been fighting the Heartless and Nobodies for two years now! They know what they're doing. Unfortunately, Kairi, you only used your Keyblade once to fight off some Shadows. Think of what Sora's done with his Keyblade."_

Naminé paused for a second, letting what she was saying sink in. Then, she continued.

"_What I'm trying to say is, I think you don't have enough experience to become a Master, Kairi. I'm sorry."_

Kairi frowned up at her ceiling. Wasn't her Nobody supposed to side with her, not against her?

"_Namin__é…"_

"_Besides. Sora would never let it happen. He'd be too worried about if you were okay to concentrate on whatever task comes next for him."_

Kairi furrowed her eyebrows. She didn't like where this conversation was going. Not at all.

Although, in the back of her mind, she knew that her Nobody was right. Sora would be worried about her every step of the way. Because, well, that was what Sora did.

But once this Princess of Heart had made up her mind, no one could change it for her.

"_Namin__é, I know all of this. But I can't watch Sora leave again! Do you even know how I felt when I watched him go last time?" _

Inside of Kairi's mind, Naminé was beginning to panic. Kairi wasn't listening to the facts. She cared too much about Sora to realize what she was seriously thinking of getting herself into.

"_Yes, Kairi. I do know how you feel. I feel everything you feel, remember?"_

Kairi was about to rebut her Nobody's point, but then she realized that what Naminé had said was true. So she chose to drop that part of her argument.

"_Sora knows I can take care of myself."_

"_He _knows _that, but because of how strongly he cares about you, it doesn't matter."_

Kairi's face reddened again. Just like Sora's had at the sunset on the dock. She could easily bet 5,000 munny that Sora had thought she hadn't noticed.

Too bad Kairi had eyes and could see the color red.

Naminé spoke up again.

"_Kairi, can you summon your Keyblade?"_

At this, Kairi realized that she had never actually tried to call back Destiny's Embrace. She quickly got up from her reclined position on her bed and stood in the middle of her floor.

"_Hmm… How do Sora and Riku do it?"_

"_Well, my best guess is they just think it and it comes."_

Kairi nodded and began concentrating on trying to get that Key back into her hands.

"_Alright, Kairi. You can do this. Keyblade!" _she thought in her mind.

And all of the sudden…

…Nothing happened.

Kairi widened her eyes in shock. Angrily, she furrowed her eyebrows and tried again.

"_Keyblade."_

Nothing.

"_Keyblade!"_

Nothing.

"_KEYBLADE!"_

Nothing.

"…_Got any other guesses?"_

"_See, Kairi? You can't even summon yours yet. How could you possibly become a Master?"_

Kairi frowned and practically belly-flopped back onto her bed, her face buried into her pillow.

"_I'll find a way, __Namin__é. I'm not letting Sora leave without me again."_

(*)

Awwh. Poor Kairi.

Why can't she summon her Keyblade? Why can't Sora just admit that he loves her? WHY IS IT TAKING MORE THAN SIX YEARS FOR SQUARE AND DISNEY TO RELEASE KINGDOM HEARTS 3? UGH!

Well, besides the last question, they shall all be answered eventually.

Keep it here, my Chocobos.

A little review would be absolutely wonderful, y'know?

… Sorry.

Love, Liz.


	3. In Over Their Heads

Sorry for the late update, those of you who are still reading this. Family emergency. Everything's okay now, though.

Sup bros? I have returned with my next chapter. But, I have to take something back from my last chapter's author's note. I got this incredible idea last night. But it's going to take a lot of chapters to get to the point. So, anyways, this might actually end up being yet another Kingdom Hearts 3 Fanfic. But it's cool. Square and Disney have left all of us KH freaks guessing and writing fanfics about what we think happens next for like five years now. Thanks, guys. We _really_ appreciate it.

Fair warning: I'm going to try to update as often as humanly possible. But don't expect a new chapter every day. I don't write that fast.

Disclaimer: I own Kingdom Hearts as much as Kairi can summon her Keyblade.

**(*)**

**W h e r e T h e y W a i t F o r H i m**

**C h a p t e r 3 :**

**I n O v e r T h e i r H e a d s**

**(*)**

"Sora."

"Soooooora."

"SORA!"

"What? Huh?"

The oh-so-graceful Keyblade Wielder was sent toppling out of his bed. He landed on his stomach as he lay sprawled out across his wooden floor. That didn't last long though, as he quickly got himself up, his eyes barely cracked open. He summoned Ultima Weapon and stood in his fighting stance.

"Sora, you lazy bum! It's just me!"

Blinking repetitively, Sora opened his eyes slowly. They revealed that there were no Heartless or Nobodies ready to attack and kill him. But instead, Kairi stood in front of him laughing.

"Huh? K-Kairi? Whattur you doing here? Where are they? Where's the Nobodies? Where's the Heartless?" Sora slurred, obviously still not awake. Ultima was still in his hands.

"There aren't any! Now, get rid of your Keyblade before your mother comes up here."

That seemed to do the trick. Sora gasped and quickly realized where he was. He banished his weapon and plopped himself back onto his bed, rubbing his eyes.

"Ugh. What time is it?"

Kairi started laughing again.

"It's almost 4:00 in the afternoon! You've been asleep all morning."

Sora's eyes were wide open now.

"Really? It's that late already? Wow."

Kairi sat herself next to Sora on his bed. She then heard Naminé giggle. To this, Kairi rolled her eyes and quickly sent back an _"Oh shush" _in her Nobody's direction.

"Mhmm. Sora, when was the last time you actually slept more than two hours?" Kairi asked. Sora never slept in this late when everything was normal. Sure, he never was an "early bird", but this was ridiculous.

Sora placed his hand on his chin and thought for a few seconds. That was a good question. He hadn't really had time to sleep on his adventures.

"Hmm… I don't actually know. But then again, I was asleep for an entire year in Twilight Town."

When Naminé heard Sora say that, she bit her lip. Well, theoretically. Because she didn't have a lip to bite. So instead, Kairi bit her own lip.

"_What is he talking about, __Namin__é?"_

"…_I'll fill you in later."_

Kairi, still not exactly sure what was going on, decided to drop it.

"Well, come on! Get dressed. There's things to do!" she said, getting up from his bed.

So naturally, Sora groaned and flopped back down onto his pillow.

"Y'know, I was right last night. You are _definitely _still a lazy bum." Kairi giggled, turning to leave his surprisingly clean room.

Unseen by her, Sora grinned another cheesy grin.

"Oh. By the way, Kairi. Why are you in my room anyways?"

Kairi turned back around and smiled.

"Apparently, your mother gave up on trying to get you up after ten attempts. So she called me and told me that if I couldn't get you up, you were dead."

That lovely shade of red returned to his cheeks as Kairi left the room.

"_Wow. You, uhm… I mean we, have a smart mother."_

"_Tell me something I don't know, Roxas."_

(*)

"So tell me Kairi. Was I right, or was I right?"

Kairi, who had just walked into the kitchen where Sora's mother now stood preparing dinner, blushed and smiled again.

"You were right."

Sora's mother smiled too, a knowing look now on her face.

"Why do I get the feeling that you were a big part of why Sora was gone for so long?"

Kairi's eyes widened as she bit her lip yet again.

"W-what do you mean?"

The older woman turned back to tend whatever was cooking on the stove.

"Even I know that my son would go to the ends of the worlds to protect you."

Kairi's face was now about the same color as her hair.

(*)

"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

The redhead and the brunette that were laughing three seconds ago turned and faced Riku. He approached the Paopu tree that Kairi and Sora had already taken their spots on.

The two of them looked at each other with puzzled looks and back at the older silver-haired boy.

"We were just waiting for you." Sora spoke up.

"Yeah. Waiting…" Riku laughed. He jerked his head ever so slightly, motioning towards Kairi. Then, he winked at Sora, an all knowing look on his complexion.

Sora's baby blues widened in surprise. And, oh god. Would that stupid blush ever go away?

Kairi stifled a giggle.

(Oh, she knew what was going on, my dear reader. Never question the power of Kairi's mind. But, she decided to, yet again, drop it to make it less awkward.)

"Oh, stop it Riku. We were talking about what we should do today. I mean, it's your first full day back on Destiny Islands. We have to do something special."

Riku climbed onto the tree, taking the spot in between Sora and Kairi. Sora glared at him when he was sure Kairi was looking away. Riku gave him a half smirk, shrugged, and then elbowed him.

Maybe a little too hard.

Because it had caused Sora to lose his balance.

Which in turn, made him fall backwards off the tree.

Sora yelped in pain as his back collided with the island he had missed so much. But this wasn't the way he had hoped to see it again.

The agile Keyblade Wielder wasn't on the ground for too long. He had, although, managed to send Riku an even stronger death glare than the last while he got back on his feet again.

Riku, of course, was laughing his head off.

Kairi looked angry at Riku and concerned for Sora at the same time.

Sora swung himself back onto the tree, this time taking the spot on Kairi's left.

"_Ha ha_. It's always funny when I get hurt, isn't it, Riku?" Sora stated, sarcasm oozing in his tone.

"Stop it, guys. It's not funny." Kairi pouted, folding her arms across her chest. She looked from the boy to her left, Sora, to the boy to her right, Riku.

"Calm down, Kairi. I'm only kidding." Riku laughed.

"Tell that to my ribs…" Sora muttered under his breath. He summoned Ultima behind his back and hissed, "Cure."

After he could breathe without feeling like his abdomen was on fire, he quickly dismissed it before Riku realized what he had done. If he had seen that, he'd surely call Sora a few names along the lines of "sissy" or "weakling" or whatever the boy could think of at the moment.

But meanwhile, Kairi and Riku were now getting back to the main point.

What to do now that there was no one trying to kill them every second of every day.

"Hmm… Well, now that school's done for me, I can spend all the time I want with you two." Kairi stated, swinging her legs back and forth.

Sora covered his face with his hands.

"Oh man. _School_. I almost forgot what that was."

Riku and Kairi exploded into a fit of laughter.

"I'm sure you'd love to forget all about school, Sora. Learning never was your thing." Riku teased, causing Kairi to laugh even harder.

Sora furrowed his eyebrows and frowned at him again.

"Riku, you and I both know that you weren't exactly the best student either."

Again, Riku shrugged.

"You don't need to know what the hypotenuse of a triangle is to save the worlds from darkness."

"My point exactly." Sora said, stretching himself out across the trunk of the Paopu tree.

Kairi giggled again.

"So, of course, that makes me the brains of you two."

"Mhmm." Sora and Riku agreed simultaneously.

They had another round of laughter, and even Roxas joined in.

"But, getting back to my point. What should we do today to celebrate your homecoming?" Kairi asked the two boys.

The three of them thought in silence for about twenty seconds.

"Well… uh… what did we do for fun before any of this saving the worlds stuff happened?" Sora spoke, ashamed that he had said it. But, it was true. He could not for the life of him remember what they did when their lives weren't in danger constantly. Those two years definitely were longer than they seemed.

Riku and Kairi looked over at him.

"Well… we used to always go out to the island and play." Kairi stated.

"And I used to kick your sorry butt every day for fun." Riku added, flipping his silver hair back.

"I used to always race you two."

"And I'd always win." Riku pointed out.

"…We'd carve doodles into the walls of the Secret Place." Kairi said, quieter than before. She avoided Sora's gaze at these words. Now, it was her cheeks that were flushed. But she could hide it a thousand times better than Sora could.

Riku stifled a laugh. Which, by the way, completely backfired, causing Riku to pretty much blow a long and loud raspberry into his hands.

"Yes. The Secret Place. A wonderful place for secrets." he blurted out, looking from Sora to Kairi multiple times. He stopped on Sora though, and smiled mischievously.

Sora was getting annoyed. Sure, Riku was his best friend and he always teased him. But this was getting really old, really fast.

"_Uh… Sora? I don't think this is going to end well. Change the subject, fast." _Roxas advised.

"Well… uhm… uh… h-how about a bonfire?" Sora quickly stuttered, having no idea what he was saying. Then he smiled, realizing what he had just thought of. That actually sounded like a really good idea in his mind. They could even have Selphie, Tidus, and Wakka join them. Just like old times.

Kairi and Riku looked at each other and nodded, also smiling.

"Sounds good to me." said Riku, sliding himself off of the tree.

"We can meet on the beach tonight at sunset." Kairi agreed.

"And maybe we can go swimming!" Sora added, maybe a little too enthusiastically. It reminded him of how he got excited when he heard he was going to meet Santa in Christmas Town.

Ignoring Riku's strange look as he headed towards the bridge, Sora maneuvered himself off of the tree. In a stroke of bravery, he offered a hand to Kairi to help her down. He had learned from his father that being a gentleman can really impress someone.

And obviously, he needed to impress Kairi.

Blinking, and then smiling, Kairi grasped Sora's hand and jumped.

"Aw. How cute." Riku drawled, loud enough for both Kairi and Sora to hear. He tried his very best to sound like Selphie.

Sora panicked, quickly letting go of Kairi's hand and distancing himself from her. Kairi rolled her eyes.

"Boys." she muttered, as she quickly passed Riku and headed back towards her boat to the main island.

(*)

Now that Kairi was out of ear-shot, Sora caught up with Riku.

"What was that all about?" He asked angrily, trying to get Riku to stop walking. However, as you might have guessed, the older boy kept going.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Riku slyly replied, failing to hide yet another grin.

Sora stopped for a second and scrunched his nose. Then he caught up with him again.

"Cut the act, Riku. What's your deal?"

Riku stopped this time.

"I saw your drawing in the Secret Place." He replied, crossing his arms over his chest, still looking away from the hopeless-when-it-comes-to-love Keyblade Wielder in front of him.

Sora's mouth opened and closed a few times before he finally said something.

"Wait. Y-you mean the… the drawing w-with… with the…"

"With the paopu fruits." Riku finished for him, looking at Sora for the first time in this whole conversation. He raised his eyebrows, grinning stupidly.

Yup, this was definitely the most fun Riku had had in a long time.

"_Paopu _fruits_? As in plural?" _Roxas voiced in Sora's head.

But he didn't hear it, of course. His mind was drawing a complete blank due to the current situation.

Sora couldn't say anything.

"So naturally, as the best friend of both you and Kairi, it's my job to tease you." He continued, starting to walk away.

Gaining the ability to speak again, Sora darted after him for the third time.

"Riku! Wait!"

Said boy about-faced.

"Kairi and I… we… we're just friends." Sora sighed, sulking and looking down at his over-sized feet.

Riku elbowed him again, a lot lighter than last time.

"That's not what it looked like to me."

(*)

"So Sora, Riku. Where exactly were you guys?" Tidus piped up as the six teenagers watched the wood in the center of their circle burn. When they were trying to get it going, Sora had almost summoned Bond of Flame out of habit to start the fire. Who could blame him, though? There weren't any matches or lighters on his journey. Just Fire, Fira, and Firaga. Luckily, Riku caught him just in time.

Sora, Riku, and Kairi nonchalantly exchanged glaces, lost for words.

"We were… uh… far away." Riku replied. Sora raised his eyebrows.

That wasn't going to cut it.

"How far away is far away?" Selphie asked, hugging her knees to her chest.

"Like, anudda world far away?" Wakka asked excitedly, looking from Sora to Riku.

"Guys, you know that there's no such thing as 'other worlds'." Riku lied, still not completely believable. He was kind of just hoping for the best. The opinion of the idea that there were other worlds was highly discussed in their home world.

"Well, there has to be! Because obviously, you two weren't on the Islands for about two years." Selphie replied, frowning over at Riku.

Both Sora and Riku simultaneously looked to Kairi for help. She quickly shook her head and shrugged.

"Well… we… were… uh…" Sora tried to begin. But that was as far as his mind had gotten.

_"Roxas! What do I do?"_

_"Looks like you're gonna have to tell them."_

_"But… but what about the world order?"_

_"Got any other ideas on how to get out of this?"_

_"Well… no."_

_"Then it looks like the worlds are going to have to forgive us this time."_

Sighing and realizing that the Nobody had a point, Sora stood up. Kairi and Riku cocked their heads and looked up at him with one of those what-are-you-about-to-do expressions on their faces. The other three had their eyes glued on Sora too.

_"I think after saving the worlds twice now, they can deal with it."_

There was a small flash of light and a strange noise.

Then, the Kingdom Key appeared in Sora's right hand.

Tidus, Selphie, and Wakka gasped. Their eyes widened and mouths hung open when they saw the object Sora was holding appear out of thin air.

Riku and Kairi didn't know what to think, say, or do.

"Whoa. W-what is it?" Tidus asked in awe. He stood and walked over to where Sora was standing. He then took it from Sora to examine it closer.

That didn't last long, as it vanished from his fingertips and ended up back in its Wielder's hand.

"WHOA! H-how did you do that?" was the next question from the surprised boy as he stumbled backwards.

Sora shrugged.

"It's called a Keyblade. And I'm its chosen Wielder." He answered, laying the weapon across both of his palms so the others could see it better.

"Key… _blade_?" Tidus repeated slowly, completely confused.

"It… it looks like a harmless key." Wakka stated, more confusion in his heavily accented voice. He too stood and tried to take it from Sora.

Which, as you probably guessed, still didn't work out.

Riku chuckled and stood, summoning the Way to the Dawn.

"Trust me. These keys are _far_ from harmless."

Selphie emitted a small squeal when she saw Riku's blade.

"Why's yours so… _scary_?" she asked him, carefully standing and having her go at the newly established game called, "let's all try to take Sora's Keyblade from him and then fail miserably."

And of course, she did fail miserably.

"Keyblades can take on lots of forms, Selphie. This is just my original." Sora explained. He fished into his pocket and pulled out a handful of charms.

"These are all different appearances and abilities for it."

He demonstrated by showing them a few different ones, including Oblivion, Ultima Weapon, Fatal Crest, Fenrir, Decisive Pumpkin, and a few others.

Selphie, Tidus, and Wakka watched the flashes of light and the changing of the Keyblade with wide eyes.

"Whoa."

Sora smiled at them and put the extra charms carefully into his pocket.

"So, you three all have one of those?" Selphie asked, pointing at the reappearing Kingdom Key that Sora held.

Sora and Riku immediately nodded.

Kairi's lip quivered.

Noticing this, Sora looked over at Kairi with confusion and concern etched onto his face. She locked eye contact for a second, and then quickly looked away.

"Kairi…?" Sora gently asked, squatting down to comfort her and find out what was wrong. Before he could, though, there was another question raised by Wakka.

"How da those two keys explain why you two were gone for so long?"

Sora turned from Kairi to Riku, silently and mentally begging him for help on this one. This story could take days to retell.

More like months.

Or, better yet, years.

"Well… that's the next part of the story." Riku said, sitting back down with one knee bent up to his chest and the other spread out.

"We're listening." Tidus replied.

Sora frowned over at his curious friends.

"It's getting late. We'll tell you some other time. Don't worry, though. We're not going away again." Sora said, fixing the frown on his face and turned it to yet another worlds-famous grin.

Kairi sniffled at this and got up, quickly walking over to the dock where the last hint of the sunset was reflecting over the cool ocean.

Sora caught sight of her leaving and followed.

Meanwhile, Tidus scratched his head and looked to Riku.

"What's with her?" he hissed to him.

Riku shrugged as he summoned his Keyblade again and cast a Blizzard in the direction of the bonfire to extinguish it.

Six eyes widened and three mouths dropped open at this.

(*)

"Kairi."

She had reached the end of the dock when Sora caught up with her. With great haste, she removed her shoes from her feet and took off her dress that doubled as a cover-up to her tankini she had on underneath.

Then, she jumped.

"Kairi!" Sora exclaimed as the water from her jump soaked him.

He followed suit, sliding off his outfit to reveal his swim trunks. His mother hated it when he went swimming in his clothes.

Kairi saw him dive in too and swam a ways away.

He swam himself over towards her, however.

"Come on, Kairi. What's wrong?" Sora asked, treading water so he could look at her.

A few seconds passed as Kairi deliberated about if she should say what was on her mind, or pretend that she was fine.

And then…

"You're wrong, Sora."

She whispered this, avoiding his deep eyes at all costs.

"Huh? A-about what?"

Kairi sighed heavily and forced herself to look up.

"I'm not a Keyblade Wielder. And…and…"

Sora interrupted her before she could finish her second point.

"What? Of course you are! You took out all those Shadows." He replied, swimming closer to her.

"No. I'm not. I… I can't summon mine."

Sora stopped and cocked his head to the side.

"What?"

Kairi blinked and looked away again, swimming backwards a little more to create more distance.

"I tried. And I can't."

Sora followed her.

"Kairi, just because…"

But she didn't get to hear the end of that.

Because at that moment, she was pulled underwater.


	4. But Don't Be Afraid

I left you off with quite a cliffhanger, didn't I? But you guys are most likely very smart and already guessed this. Time for an Awakening. It's a lot like Roxas's Awakening, but it has some parts of Sora's too.

**ALSO. Anyone who can correctly guess the voice speaking to Kairi will get a special mentioning in the next chapter! Also, I'm in need of a few ideas. Anyone who can guess it right can give me an idea to work with that I will try my hardest to put into the story down the road. c:**

I'd like to give a little bit of credit to forevermagik13 and her story "All the Pieces Lie Where they Fell." I've been reading it faithfully and this wonderful story inspired me to write this. Also, I got the idea for this chapter from her and borrowed a few descriptions she used in her version of Kairi's Awakening.

Disclaimer: If I owned Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts III would be out already. I rest my case.

**(*)**

**W h e r e T h e y W a i t F o r H i m **

**C h a p t e r 4 :**

**B u t D o n **'** t B e A f r a i d **

**(*)**

"_**KAIRI!**_" Sora blared at the top of his lungs. He watched Kairi plunge into the ocean depths before his very eyes.

"KAIRI!"

"_KAIRI_!"

Without even thinking it through, the young Keyblade Wielder sucked in all the air he could and dove in after the Princess of Heart.

Deeper and deeper he swam, looking for any sign of her.

But she had… _vanished_.

Completely vanished.

His head shot back and forth as he scaled the underwater environment with his sharp eyes.

Nothing.

Sora ran out of breath and resurfaced, gasping for air.

Then, he went right back down again.

He did this quite a few times.

All to no avail.

He resurfaced once more, panting heavily.

"Sora!"

Riku had reached the edge of dock when Sora turned his body around to face the one who had called him.

"Where's Kairi?"

(*)

Something had her.

Something was dragging her down.

Kairi struggled and flailed every part of her body, trying to break free, but whatever or whoever it was pulling her down to the bottom of the ocean would not let go.

Yet, she still wouldn't give in to her attacker.

Turning her head as far as she could to try to see what had her, bubbles rose upwards, their destination being the very place Kairi needed and wanted to be. Her eyes widened at what she found.

_There was nothing there._

More bubbles floated above her as she screamed.

Her head flung from one side to the other as she searched for the reason why she was drowning.

Nothing.

Nothing was there.

But the pulling downward continued.

She looked down and saw the ocean floor approaching quickly.

And suddenly, Kairi could move again. Whatever had pulled her down had let go. She flipped herself over and found that she could stand.

Whoa.

As amazing as it was to be standing at the bottom of the ocean, Kairi then realized that the amazement would be short lived. Because, she was still holding her breath. Because, obviously, humans can't breathe underwater.

And her lungs were _aching_.

So Kairi squeezed her eyes shut and began mentally going through all the good times in her life as she waited for her end to come.

The times on the Islands.

The times with Riku.

The times with _Sora_.

Those sunsets they had shared.

That untamable spikey hair of his.

She was sort of happy that he had been the last person she had seen before she…

She…

Kairi exhaled, unable to hold her breath any longer.

She waited for the water to rush into her lungs, the ocean taking her as its next victim.

But, wait.

Whoa.

Wait.

Wait a second…

_She could breathe._

She was underwater, at the bottom of the ocean, and she could _breathe_?

…Whoa.

Kairi took a deep breath, trying very hard to calm down and make any sense of this.

Had she fallen asleep or something?

Yes. Yes, she was definitely dreaming.

But the real question was, where and when had she fallen asleep?

Did she fall asleep at the bonfire while Sora retold of his adventures?

Was she still locked in that cage with Pluto at the Castle That Never Was?

Had Sora even rescued her in the first place?

Kairi shook herself back into the present.

Or well, her dream.

She was still asleep somewhere, so this dream was happening and she had no choice but to deal with it and progress forwards.

She lifted her foot carefully, not sure what would happen if she put it down again. She eventually took a step forward, bracing herself for anything.

And then, the dark depths of the sea were instantly ignited with light.

Kairi looked down with shocked blue eyes to the source of the strong glow.

The ocean floor was dissolving away right before her eyes and turning into birds that flew off to some unknown destination.

She watched them soar off.

Birds flying in an ocean that she could breathe in.

This was _some_ dream.

She redirected her attention downward again.

She was now standing on some sort of… platform where the seafloor had been. It looked like it was made of stained-glass.

The light grew brighter and brighter, almost blinding Kairi. She threw her arms up over her face to shield herself.

When the light subsided, she was far from the bottom of the ocean.

(*)

"_What!"_ roared Riku as Sora hastily explained what had happened.

"Something has Kairi." Sora said calmly, although his tone made Riku's spine shiver as he detected the anger Sora was feeling.

Riku didn't even bother with his swimsuit.

He backed himself up a little and sprinted towards the edge, diving into the ocean below.

The two boys took one look at each other, nodded, and dove under again.

(*)

Kairi opened her eyes slowly and gradually dropped her arms down to her side.

"Huh?" she gasped as she did a double-take when she saw her surroundings.

She was standing on the same green platform from the ocean floor, but everything else had changed. She couldn't quite make out who or what was depicted under her feet.

"_N-__Namin__é? Where am I?" _

There was no answer.

"_Namin__é! Are you there?"_

Around the platform was a never ending pit of blackness and darkness. Besides that, there was nothing else.

She was alone.

She also noticed something else. There was faint… _singing_. And chanting. It certainly sounded like music. It wasn't in any language that she could understand. Every so often, she could make out the faint voices chanting the word "destati", whatever that meant.

Then, Kairi realized she was back in her normal pink zipper-dress instead of a bathing suit.

There were three flashes of light in front of her as she directed her attention forward once more.

To Kairi's surprise, hovering in midair was a sword, a shield, and a staff.

"Chose wisely." she heard someone say to her. The voice sounded oddly… familiar.

She took a step backwards and looked around her for the source of the strange voice.

No one was there.

Gathering some courage and taking one step at a time, she walked towards the objects that had appeared. Each footstep echoed loudly, which was a little unnerving. Kairi couldn't help but feel like something dangerous was about to take place. And there was no Sora or Riku to help her this time.

She walked up to the sword and examined it carefully.

"_The power of the warrior. Invincible courage. A sword of terrible destruction._" the inscription read.

"Is this the power you seek?" asked the voice Kairi had heard earlier.

Kairi thought about this for a second. She wasn't much of a fighter. Yes, she could fight, but she didn't normally do it unless she absolutely needed to. Besides, Sora and Riku were obviously much stronger than her.

Kairi shook her head and walked over towards the staff.

"_The power of the mystic. Inner strength. A staff of wonder and ruin._" it read.

"Is this the power you seek?"

Again, Kairi thought. She had never attempted magic, in those five minutes she had her Keyblade. True, she was fascinated by it. But Kairi had a feeling that magic would not be her greatest strength.

So Kairi again shook her head and approached the final object: the shield.

"_The power of the guardian. Kindness to aid friends. A shield to repel all_."

"Is this the power you seek?" the voice asked for the third time.

If Kairi's calculations were correct, Sora and Riku would have to leave again for another big adventure. Which, of course, Kairi would somehow join them in. She figured that Sora and Riku would be the offensive. So she'd be the defensive. Everyone knows no good offense comes without a good defense.

She wouldn't be the warrior or the mage; she'd be the guardian. It's what she did best. Looking out for Sora and Riku when they can't be bothered to do it themselves.

Kairi reached out with a trembling hand to take the shield.

Instantaneously, as soon as she touched it, it disappeared in a bright flash.

"Huh?"

However, in Kairi's hand, it re-materialized into Destiny's Embrace. Completely shocked, she gasped and stared down at it with her eyes wide with amazement.

"Princess of Heart, you have seen this blade. In your previous endeavors, you fought to protect your friends. You will, without a doubt, need it again.

"In your upcoming journey, you will encounter many enemies. Some, you have seen. Some enemies have not been seen in a decade. You must stand strong. But don't be afraid."

After the voice finished speaking, out of nowhere, three small fidgety blue figures with red eyes appeared around her, forming a circle in which she was the center.

She noticed that the faint music in the background had intensified as it grew more dramatic.

Kairi tightened her grip on her Keyblade as she realized what they were.

She felt like she had seen them before.

But… but _how_?

She knew that these were the enemies the voice had said hadn't been seen in ten years.

As if someone had snapped their figures, telling them to attack, they all started moving towards her at once.

"But don't be afraid." the voice repeated.

Kairi took a deep breath, trying with all of her strength to do as the voice said. Because she was terrified. The last time she had fought, Riku had been there too fighting alongside of her. Now, she was alone. Even Naminé was no longer there.

While she was thinking all of this, one of the blue enemies had hit her.

She gasped and hissed in pain through clenched teeth.

Out of anger, she took three slashes at the one who had attacked her with the Keyblade.

There was a something like a popping sound as it disappeared.

Kairi smiled. She could do this. She could fight.

She sprinted away from the other two enemies as they sank down into the ground, almost as if they were moving puddles.

Moving _deadly_ puddles to be exact.

When the "puddles" came back up, they made a strange clicking sound. It wasn't like anything Kairi had heard before.

…Or had she?

She really was confused beyond all help at the moment.

So instead of focusing on why she kept thinking she had seen them before and had heard that voice before, she slashed at the other two "puddles" until they too vanished.

Just when Kairi thought the worst was over, three Nobodies appeared. She had definitely seen those before. They were called Dusks, if Kairi remembered correctly.

And if what she remembered was indeed correct, these Dusks would be a pain to fight.

"But don't be afraid."

(*)

"Riku!" Sora called out after he resurfaced again.

The dock could be seen off in the distance, if they squinted. They had moved away from the Island as they searched as much of the ocean as they possibly could for Kairi.

Riku came up for air too, spitting some water out in the process.

"Yeah?"

"Any luck?"

Riku sighed and shook his head.

"No more than you, I assume."

Sora furrowed his eyebrows.

He looked away from Riku.

"I'm not giving up." he said, determination in his voice.

Back down went the brunette.

Riku sighed another heavy sigh and followed.

(*)

The last of the Dusks had vanished.

Kairi felt very drained. She was hoping with all of her being that this nightmare would end soon. That she would wake up and be with Sora and Riku again on their Island.

As if the nightmare was mocking her, three Shadows appeared next.

"_Ugh. Give me a break."_ Kairi thought as she raised her Keyblade and got back into her fighting stance.

At least she had some experience with this type of Heartless.

She dashed around on the stained-glass platform, avoiding the Shadows' attacks and hitting them when they were above ground. The Shadows reminded her of the earlier "puddles".

Finally, they too went just as the other enemies had.

As Kairi stood in the center of the platform panting heavily, a strange noise came from behind her. She about-faced and found a small brown and gold chest at the edge.

She walked up to it and hit it with Destiny's Embrace twice.

It opened to reveal a Potion; which was a big relief for her.

She quickly drank it before anything else tried to kill her.

Another noise made Kairi turn around. Out of nowhere, a large door appeared across from her. Strangely, there were no walls. Just a door.

"_Take caution, Princess of Heart. Beyond this door lies a world full of danger. But don't be afraid."_

Kairi had had enough of this. Of course she was afraid! This was terrifying her. She'd have nightmares because of this nightmare. Instead of moving forwards, she took a step backwards. And another. And another.

As if the voice knew what she was trying to do, it responded.

"_There is no turning back."_

Kairi gulped.

(*)

They were a good distance away from their Island and the mainland now.

In fact, they were approaching another Island that belonged to Destiny Islands. No one lived there and no one really went there. Sora had been there once with his father to go fishing when he was young.

The two boys were exhausted after being tossed about and beaten by the waves for a good two hours. The sun had gone down a while ago, leaving only the moonlight and starlight to guide them.

"Riku." Sora mumbled after yawning.

Riku grunted as a response.

"We… we should make camp over at that Island for a while. We'll rest for a few minutes and then go back out and search some more."

"Agreed."

(*)

Kairi even went as far as whacking herself with her Keyblade to try to make herself wake up, wherever her body was.

All that gave her was a throbbing sensation and a future bruise.

"_I'm going to have to do this, aren't I?" _she asked herself as she rubbed her left arm to make the pain subside a little bit.

She reached into her pouch and pulled out her lucky charm. She gripped it tightly and held it to her chest, as if she was holding onto it for dear life.

In this case, she might as well have been.

Taking a deep breath, Kairi willed herself to take the final step towards the door.

It creaked a little as she reluctantly pushed it open.


	5. Embracing Destiny

Kay, so. Let's go back to Kairi's Awakening, shall we? I'm sorry for the late update. But I just started school again, and I have so much work to do now. Don't worry, though. I haven't forgotten about this story. c:

But first, WE HAVE A WINNER. One of my lovely and faithful reviewers guessed the voice correctly. I thought that the person behind the voice would appear in this chapter, but my story decided otherwise. You'll meet them next chapter.

OH. By the way. To get you excited for future chapters, I'm going to be tying in my take of Birth By Sleep Volume II in this. When I found out about it, I legit was freaking out for about two hours or so. I seriously hope it's not a Japan-only game. If you didn't know about Volume II, Youtube "Zero Point Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep Final Mix". And get ready to freak. For hours.

Enough rambling. On with the story!

Disclaimer: I may not own Kingdom Hearts, but come Christmas, I will own my Demyx hoodie and my Keyblade necklace. c: 3

**(*)**

**W h e r e T h e y W a i t F o r H i m **

**C h a p t e r 5 :**

**E m b r a c i n g D e s t i n y **

**(*)**

"_Well that was anticlimactic." _

Kairi, who was holding her breath for a good amount of time while she walked through the big door that had appeared, let the carbon dioxide whoosh out of her lungs. She couldn't help but think that the moment she walked through to the "new and dangerous world", she'd be ambushed. But nothing jumped out to attack her. All she could hear was the same music from the last place and her breathing.

Pretty much nothing had changed.

The only things that had seemed to have changed were:

1.) The platform she was now standing on. It had turned from green to pink. From the angle she was looking at it from, she still couldn't really make out who was pictured. It looked like a young and beautiful girl with long hair. But there were lots of those, right?

2.) There were now stairs seen at the end of the current platform she was on. They were actually quite… _pretty_. They too were stained-glass; each step depicting a rainbow of colors.

3.) If Kairi squinted and strained her eyes, she could make out more platforms in the distance; up the sets of stairs.

Kairi slowly walked forwards, taking calming breaths. She still had a death grip on her newly-acquired weapon, but her heart that had previously been going a mile-a-minute was slowly but surely getting back into its normal rhythm.

Each loud footstep seemed to match her heart's pace.

As if Kairi's next step hit a landmine, out of nowhere, three of the "puddles" appeared. She decided that from now on, that's what they'd be to her. Puddles.

Just when her heart rate was finally normal, it sped faster and faster as her adrenaline kicked in once more. There was no pause this time before the Puddles started their attempts at killing her.

But, within a few minutes, those three creatures ended up like their relatives from earlier.

One of them had managed to nip her, though. She had a decent sized scrape on her calf muscle that was now emitting crimsons beads of blood. But she'd be okay. She knew that Sora and Riku have dealt with more than just a scrape.

Actually, Sora had stabbed himself with a Keyblade and had pretty much died right in front of her.

And Riku…

He'd been through more than he probably let on about.

So Kairi walked it off and began ascending upwards on the multi-colored stairs. She forced her chin upwards instead of looking down at the patterns engraved below her feet. In between each step, there were small gaps that she could've looked down through. These gaps showed that there was nothing holding the stairs up. Just a never-ending pit of blackness could be seen below.

The hairs on the back of Kairi's neck stood up on their own accord as she thought about what would happen if she were to slip and fall off.

She shivered at the idea.

But her train of thought soon left her mind as a Dusk appeared about half-way up the staircase.

She took a few good whacks at it with Destiny's Embrace and dodged its attacks to the best of her ability; which wasn't much. After it finally vanished, Kairi realized that she was all the way back down the stairs, due to the fight's movements.

She sighed, tightened her grip on her weapon, furrowed her eyebrows, and began climbing back upwards for the second time.

(*)

She had been right yesterday.

Destiny was certainly taking the trio on a "joy ride".

Sora didn't know whether he should consider himself extremely lucky, or extremely unlucky.

True, if it weren't for his luck, he wouldn't have Kairi, his Keyblade, his many friends, and he would've surely died the first time he had encountered a Heartless.

On the other hand, however, if he was lucky, none of this "saving-the-worlds" stuff would've happened to him in the first place.

But when Sora awoke with a start to find he was in a torrential downpour, he was definitely leaning towards the unlucky side.

As if his previous battle with the waves hadn't soaked him enough…

Riku was already up. The silver-haired boy was currently running around the island with his arms over his head, trying to find some place for shelter from the storm.

Sora began searching too.

The Island they were on was quite small compared to the others. They could see the other side of the Island through the trees. Well, if you could call them trees. They were skinny palm trees, and there were probably only a total number of twenty of them on the Island.

"Over here!" Sora heard Riku's voice shout over the pounding rain.

Sora cupped his hands over his eyes to try to make it easier to see. There was pretty much zero visibility. Everything was blurred and distorted. He looked around, trying to spot Riku among the downpour, but he couldn't visually find him. He decided to make his way over towards Riku's voice.

Eventually, Sora located the also-soaking-wet Riku sitting under a large rock. The rock was positioned at the top of a small hill, with part of it hanging off the side. It provided a little bit of shelter for the time being.

"It's always a storm, isn't it." Sora sighed, sitting himself down next to his best friend. He was shivering from the rain. Sora was still in only his bathing suit; meaning he was shirtless. The rain was cold on his bare chest, and the fire they had made last night to keep warm on the beach was long gone.

Riku laughed.

"I guess so."

The two sat in silence for a few seconds.

"I hope Kairi's okay." Riku mindlessly stated, taking off his shoes to wring out some water out of his heavily water-logged socks. He hadn't realized what that simple statement was about to cause.

Sora blinked, his heart skipping a beat.

"Oh man. _Kairi_! She's out there in the storm!"

And just as quickly as he had sat down, the Keyblade Wielder had sprung up onto his feet once more.

He was in the process of trying to sprint away to go try to save Kairi for a third time when Riku, still seated, grabbed hold of his arm.

Sora turned his head and glared at the other boy. He struggled and tried loosen Riku's grip, his teeth clenched.

Riku wouldn't let go, though.

"You can't." The elder one simply stated.

Sora looked at Riku as if he had two heads.

"I have to! And you should be helping me! Not fighting me!" Sora grunted, still trying to tear himself away from Riku.

Riku wouldn't budge.

"RIKU. LET ME GO."

Riku calmly shook his head.

"Sora, if you go jumping into the ocean, you'll die."

Sora took a deep breath.

"If I don't go, Kairi will die." he spoke, biting his words as he tried to remain calm.

Riku sighed and stood up, his grip on Sora's arm loosening a tad bit.

"Sora. We don't even know where she is. We've looked everywhere. We spent last night searching every inch of ocean we could get to." Riku explained softly, releasing Sora's arm as his dropped against his side. The places where his fingers had gripped made red marks in his skin.

Sora shut his eyes, as if this was all a nightmare that he could easily wake up from.

After a few seconds, he answered.

"Riku, if Kairi's out there, we need to find her. She may be hurt. Or… or worse."

"We'll find her. But, not in a storm like this."

"But…" Sora tried to start in rebuttal, but he failed to find a way to win this argument. Riku was right, unfortunately. Even if Kairi was somewhere in the ocean, which was starting to sound more and more unlikely, they wouldn't be able to find her. They could barely see as it was, and the sea was getting rougher every minute. He sighed heavily and sat back down, pulling in his knees to his chest and resting his chin on top of them.

"Ever since all this Keyblade stuff has happened to us, Kairi's been in constant danger. She's always being taken away from us." Sora said slowly.

Riku nodded, turning his head so he could look out into the worsening storm. The rain was coming down even harder, if it was even humanly possible. It echoed like thunder off of the rock they had taken shelter under.

"She hasn't done anything wrong. Why is it always her?" Sora mumbled, combing his fingers through his untamable hair as he put his head in his hands.

Riku sat back down after a moment or two.

Sora looked up to find Riku slightly smiling.

"Don't worry. We'll find her. We always do."

(*)

Kairi was starting to understand why Sora had been so tired that morning.

All these enemies were starting to become unbearable. There were just… so many. Too many to count. She had lost track after fighting a group of five shadows on another platform.

Her mind was also losing track of how many platforms she had made it to. She seemed to think she was at five, including the one from the ocean.

Even after all of the combat she had been through in such a short time, her blade had yet to receive a dent in it. Destiny's Embrace was still in perfect condition.

Kairi used up more of her precious strength that was draining oh so quickly to take out a few more Puddles on her way up to the sixth platform. She was panting heavily, sweat dripping from her forehead. She brushed her red locks back behind her ear and sighed.

Sora made it look so easy.

There was nothing easy about these endless enemies.

She forced her feet to keep walking. How long had she been here, in this dream? It had to have been a while by now. Her whole body was aching, and she just wanted to collapse. Everything was so surreal and unnerving. She didn't know what would happen to her if she fell off the platform or stairs. She didn't know what would happen if she was defeated by one of the different types of enemies. She was alone, except for the Puddles, Dusks, and Shadows. Oh. And that familiar voice. But, she didn't even know where it was coming from.

This was probably the worst nightmare Kairi had been through.

It all seemed so… so…

_Real._

She braced herself for yet another battle as she reached another platform. This one was a light blue with something that looked like a young and seemingly joyful girl with blonde hair. The background seemed to have a bunch of cards, like the Queen of Hearts, all over it. And a strange looking cat. And a white rabbit…

She disregarded it and turned her focus forwards.

She gingerly took a step onto the platform, Keyblade ready to strike at anything that dared to threaten its wielder. But, for once, she wasn't immediately attacked. Kairi sighed deeply and took a few more steps, dreading the next set of stairs she had to climb.

But wait.

Kairi rubbed her eyes with the inside of her palms to make sure she was seeing this correctly.

Instead of more stairs, there was now a door. Almost identical to the door she had walked through to get where she was now.

She waited for a few moments for something to happen. Such as, more words of wisdom from the mysterious yet familiar voice. It was driving her insane. She was 100% sure that she'd heard it before. It was definitely female.

Nothing came, so Kairi started towards the door. Her hands were white from the force of her grip on Destiny's Embrace.

Moments later, she was just inches away from the next passageway into another strange place. Kairi wanted with all of her heart to be somewhere familiar again. She was hoping, as she let go of the Keyblade with one hand to reach for the door, that this would be the way back home.

Then, there were three Dusks, three Puddles, and six Shadows coming at her all at once.

Kairi shrieked as she flung her Keyblade out in front of her, trying her absolute best to defend herself from the ambush. She slammed her eyes shut.

Her brain and heart were both going a mile a minute as Kairi was forced back against the door. Two of the Dusks had shrunken down into the ground and were coming closer and closer. The Shadows and Puddles were circling her, getting in an attack whenever they could.

With nowhere to turn, Kairi turned and scrambled into the door as quick as she could, without a second thought.

She had no idea what she had just gotten herself into.


	6. While Darkness Remains

You guys must hate me. I'm _**SO**_ sorry for the late update. I should have NEVER taken all honors classes AND everything else in my life. What was I thinking? :c

But here we go, for those of you wonderful ladies and gentlemen who are still with me. Chapter Six. _**Lots**_ of stuff will happen in here, even though it's a little short. Stuff you probably didn't see coming. Including the identity of the voice.

Thanks to all my lovely reviewers. You guys are the greatest people on Earth and I love you all. c:

Disclaimer : How about no.

**(*)**

**W h e r e T h e y W a i t F o r H i m**

**C h a p t e r 6 :**

**W h i l e D a r k n e s s R e m a i n s **

**(*)**

Darkness.

_Again_.

No beach.

No islands.

No ocean.

No Riku.

No Sora.

Just… darkness.

Kairi's hopes of waking up and returning back home were once again shattered when she opened her eyes.

But, this time, things were _very_ different.

Like, _monumentally _different.

For starters, Kairi's entire body was floating high above yet another platform. Which was enough to make anyone freak out.

But the whole floating concept wasn't what _really _freaked her out.

After she realized who was pictured this time, her eyes practically bulged out of her skull and her hands flew to her mouth to cover it.

It was…

_Her._

She was seeing _herself_ in stained-glass form.

But, older and a lot more sophisticated-looking.

This Kairi was wearing a beautiful long, flowing, and fancy gown. It was a dark green shade, which complimented her hair nicely. The bottom of the dress poofed out around her and it was obvious that there was one of those cage things underneath it. An even darker green ribbon was tied around her waist. The top of the gown hugged her figure tightly. It wasn't extremely low-cut, but it showed more than her usual outfit. It was laced down her chest from the bottom of the neckline to about half way down her torso. The dress had long sleeves that also had laces going down the arms. Her hair was the same length, and a crown sat atop her head. Loosely held in her right hand was Destiny's Embrace.

In short, she looked like a princess.

Which, obviously, she was.

But, she never pictured herself being a princess like _that_.

The stained-glass version of her was positioned sideways, in a kind-of reclining position.

Next to stained-glass Kairi's upper half were six circles. Each circle had the head of a person, also in stained-glass form.

Kairi easily recognized Sora's face in the largest circle.

Huh.

Why was his circle bigger than the others?

Sora looked exactly the same as Kairi had last seen him. She had half expected him to be older as well.

Not that she was complaining, or anything.

Riku's circle was below Sora's, slightly smaller than the latter's, but larger than the other four. His silver hair was shorter than what its present length was.

On Sora's right was… well…

Someone who looked _extremely _familiar.

But, as hard as Kairi tried, she couldn't put a name to the face.

The face was female, and the girl was definitely older than Kairi. She had short, choppy blue hair and her eyes were closed for some reason.

Below the blue-haired girl was a man who looked to be the same age as the girl. His eyes mysteriously appeared to be half-open.

Next was a boy who looked identical to Roxas. His eyes were closed as well.

Finally, in the last circle was another man. A much older looking man. Someone Kairi had seen before not too long ago. His eyes were, of course, also closed.

_But why was **Ansem the Wise** included on the platform?_

The background of the platform included different hues of pink. More circles surrounded the outer edge of the platform, each one containing a Paopu Fruit.

Near stained-glass Kairi's feet was something that looked like a mural of a castle. The castle was a light-pink color with towers branching out around it. Pictured below the tower were beautiful gardens.

This too looked familiar to Kairi.

A little _too_ familiar.

She felt like she had been here many times.

And it was driving her, if it was even humanly possible, even more insane.

But that was impossible! She had been never been there.

After Kairi had taken in the appearance of the platform, it slowly became bigger and bigger.

Due to how exhausted Kairi was, it took her a few minutes to realize that she was slowly being lowered onto the platform. Moments later, she found herself next to Sora's portrait.

The intense music slowly became audible again as she looked over her left and right shoulders to make sure nothing was about to attack her from behind.

"_Princess of Heart, your heart is pure. No darkness lurks within." _The same voice from earlier said monotonously.

Kairi, at a loss of what to do anymore, simply nodded.

"_However, your heart has been kept within another who is affected by such darkness. Because of this, you have been unable to unlock your true potential as a Princess of Heart."_

Sora.

Kairi bit her lip. About two years ago, when the life-changing journey of the three islanders had just begun, her heart had been kept within Sora while her body was put into a comatose state. He had unlocked her heart by stabbing himself with a Keyblade. She knew Sora had had a small amount of darkness within him. He had even turned into a Heartless due to his sacrifice for her. And she had been able to bring him back.

Was that due to her abilities as a Princess of Heart?

As Kairi thought about this, something began forming behind her.

Something even more familiar than that voice.

Kairi heard a footstep and whirled around, her Keyblade reappearing in her hand.

However, the familiar feeling of the blade being in her hand was short-lived, because what Kairi saw made her gasp and drop her weapon.

"_But don't be afraid."_

(*)

"Er, Master Yen Sid?"

"When da ya want ush to, um, wake her up?"

"Patience, you two… Patience."

(*)

"S…Sora?"

It certainly looked like him. The person – or thing – in front of Kairi looked identical to the stained-glass Sora next to her.

Same face.

Same body.

Same clothes.

Same over-sized shoes.

Same chocolate spikes.

But something wasn't right. His normal bright and shining eyes were cold and almost life-less.

It couldn't be him.

…Could it?

He took another step forward. By this time, Kairi's blade had once again formed within her clutch; just like Sora's had when he had shown it to Selphie, Tidus, and Wakka back on the beach. With every step he made towards her, her knuckles grew whiter from the grip she had. She would surely have blisters all over her palms from her constant death grip on Destiny's Embrace.

Kairi shook her head.

No.

"Y… You're not Sora!" Kairi's voice boomed, echoing into the darkness. It had come out louder than she had expected it to.

At her words, "Sora's" lips curled into a smile - nothing like that cheesy first-grader-chosen-to-be-the-very-important-person-of-the-week smile that Kairi had grown to love. It was cold and uninviting.

As Kairi blinked her eyes, "Sora's" body was enveloped in blackness.

Two piercing and unforgiving yellow eyes replaced the other lifeless blue ones.

It lunged towards her and Kairi was somehow able to block the attack.

That's when Kairi's mind stopped working all together and the hand holding her Keyblade seemed to work on instinct.

"_While darkness remains, light cannot triumph."_ the voice said, slowly growing fainter and fainter with every word.

But Kairi really didn't hear it, because she was busy blocking another of "Sora's" attacks.

(*)

The storm wasn't showing any sign of stopping anytime soon.

Which just continued to add to Sora's anxiety.

He rubbed his temples, trying to think of some kind of plan. Or, at least something to do. Instead of hopelessly watching the countless raindrops pour down from the heavens while he worried himself sick about Kairi.

Roxas didn't seem too happy either.

Yet, he was silent in Sora's mind.

Of course, Sora knew that he was anxious though. Because whatever Roxas felt, he felt.

And vice versa.

Riku was asleep again beside Sora. Apparently, he wasn't as heavy a sleeper as his brunette friend. He had gotten a few solid hours in on the beach, but not as much as Sora had.

Sora probably couldn't have slept anyways, due to the current situation.

"_What are we gonna do, Roxas?" _

Although he thought it unlikely, maybe his other self had an idea.

"_What _can_ we do? Riku's right. If we went looking for Namin- I mean Kairi, something bad's bound to happen." _

Sora sighed and clenched his fists.

This wasn't fair.

This was supposed to be a long-awaited and deserved vacation after saving the worlds twice.

After saving _Kairi _twice.

Kairi wasn't supposed to disappear again.

Things were supposed to be back to normal.

Kairi was supposed to fall into Sora's open arms and fall in lo…

Never mind.

Sora tilted his head back and banged it against the wall of the shelter.

But he didn't hear the thump over the sound of the thunderclap that shook the ground.

(*)

Kairi was knocked to the ground with an unbelievable force.

Her body told her to just stay there. She was exhausted, scared for her life, and hurt. Why should she get back up just to get knocked back onto the ground again?

But her mind thought otherwise. Her mind told her to get up and fight. Fight for her life.

So she did.

But her opponent was quicker.

And seconds later she was once again, falling face first onto Sora's face engraved below what should have been her feet.

There was no way she could win this.

She was too weak.

Too dependent on Sora and Riku to come and save her time and time again.

She raised her torso up with what was left of her arm strength. After blinking back some unwelcome tears a few times, she found herself staring into who she knew as the real Sora's eyes. They were the brightest of all blues, not that cold and haunting yellow.

She had seen those yellow eyes before.

And then it clicked.

This thing…

It had to be the darkness inside of Sora.

The side of Sora that Kairi herself had rescued him from by simply calling his name and holding him close to her.

_Maybe…_

She heard the Anti-Sora come behind her, and Kairi knew that she had to act fast.

With all that was left within her, she flung herself at it and wrapped her arms around its neck. She held it close as she possibly could for as long as it would let her.

And then everything was white.

(*)

Naminé slowly began regaining consciousness. She didn't know what had happened. All she remembered was Kairi telling Sora about her doubts about being a Keyblade Wielder. But after that, she could recall nothing.

Kairi was still either asleep or knocked out. It was difficult to tell for sure. But Kairi's side of their shared mind was definitely not awake.

The once-blonde cleared her throat and tried to wake her other half.

"Kairi? Kairi, wake up."

(*)

"Kairi?" A familiar high pitched called.

Said person's eyelashes fluttered as her eyelids slowly opened…

…To reveal a duck and a dog less than a foot from her face.


End file.
